Stacked plate regenerators



Nov. 9, 1965 D. JOHNSON STACKED PLATE REGENERATORS 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed Aug. '7, 1965 INVENTOR. fl zy/as fi/msan ATTORNEY Nov. 9, 1965 D. JOHNSON 3,216,495

STACKED PLATE REGENERATORS Filed Aug. '7, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 H mm M &

INVENTOR.

157;; 4902/9/66 Ja'fmson WW ATTORNEY Nov. 9, 1965 D. JOHNSON STACKED PLATE REGENERATORS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. '7, 1965 INYLENTOR. aflizy/as Johnson BY United States Patent 3,216,495 STACKED PLATE REGENERATORS Douglas Johnson, Indianapolis, Ind., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 300,437 1 Claim. (Cl. 165-166) This invention relates to heat transfer structures and more particularly to regenerators for transferring heat from one fluid to another such as from hot engine exhaust gas to relatively cool combustion air.

An object of this invention is to provide a regenerator of simplified structure having a minimum of parts and potentially presenting ease for the supplying of suitable manifolding to maintain separation of fluids involved in heat exchange within the regenerator.

To this end, a feature of the present invention is a regenerator characterized by multiple plates arranged in a stack, these plates including corrugated plates separated by spacer plates all cooperating to define crossed paths of two fluids, the crossed paths being separated by the corrugated plates, and the spacer plates aiding in defining in let and outlet ports forming continuations of said paths and communicating with suitable manifolding.

This and other important features of the invention will now be described in detail in the specification and then pointed out more particularly in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view looking in the direction of the arrows 1-1 in FIGURE 2 showing one embodiment of the present invention, and the path of one of the two fluids involved-Le. hot engine exhaust gas-being indicated with arrows.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the regenerator shown in FIGURE 1 with some parts broken away better to illustrate the construction;

FIGURE 3 is a view in elevation looking in the direction of the arrows 33 in FIGURE 2 to show top and bottom portions;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 1 looking in the direction and section of the arrows 4-4 in FIGURE 2, but showing arrows giving the direction of flow of the second fluid involvedi.e. combustion air.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view looking in the direction of the arrows 55 in FIGURE 4 and showing some combustion or hot gas outlet ports with one manifold being sectioned and hot gas as well as relatively cold air outlets being illustrated;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the integrated inner regenerator structure of FIGURES l-S, the supporting outer casing being omitted; and

FIGURE 7 is an exploded view of two spacer plates and two corrugated plates in their positional order in the regenerator assembly with outlines of opposite end or marginal portions of each plate being shown in dot-and-dash lines to indicate portions removed before and subsequent to the integration of the plates into a unit.

The regenerator illustrated in the drawings shows manifolding including an outer casing having a bottom wall 10, a front wall 12, a back wall 14, and opposite side Walls 16 and 18. These are held together by suitable bolts 20. The two side walls 16 and 18 are solid Whereas the bottom wall bears three apertures as indicated at 22, 24 and 26. The lower part of the front wall 12 is apertured as shown at 28. This aperture is somewhat rectangular and large for the free admission of hot gas as will further appear. The top portion of the front plate 12 is apertured at 30 and 32 for the retention of two upper manifold tanks 34 and 36, respectively. The tanks 34 and 36 are similar in that a spaced end of each tank bears a flange 38 or 40. The margin of the opening 28 at the bottom 3,216,495 Patented Nov. 9, 1965 portion of the casing is reinforced by a rectangular frame 42 which is adapted to be attached to a pipe conduit for the conveying of the hot gas.

The back plate 14 bears apertures 44 and 46 but these are closed off by suitable plates 48 and 49, respectively, so that closed ends of the tanks in the regenerator are covered.

In addition to the two upper tanks 34 and 36, three lower tanks are also provided. These tanks are in the form of two smaller tanks 50 and one intermediate larger tank 52. These three tanks are provided with two vertical conduits 56 and one larger vertical conduit 58 in such a way that each tank with its corresponding vertical conduit makes a T-form cold air outlet portion of the regenerator. The two conduits 56 bear flanges 60 for connection with a system requiring heated air and the conduit 58 bears a flange 62 for a similar function. One end of each tank 34 and 36 as well as each vertical conduit 56 or 58 is provided with sealing means engaging the outer casing and indicated at 64. This sealing means may take various forms but, in the drawing, each seal is illustrated as two engaging annular sheet metal members with one of the members being joined to a tank or conduit and the other being suitably joined to the casing.

In forming the stack of plates into an interior unit for the regenerator, relatively thick spacer plates are stacked alternately with relatively thin corrugated plates 72, all these plates prior to assembly being substantially rectangular with corner sections removed as easily seen by inspection of FIGURES 6 and 7. The corner portions are removed to form downwardly facing shoulders as at 74 ultimately to rest on horizontal members 76, as seen in section in FIGURE 1, thereby to support the integral stack of plates within the casing. As set forth above, the spacer plates 70 are relatively thick compared with the plates 72, but it will be noted in FIGURE 7 that each spacer plate 70 bears a large opening 78 defined by parallel and opposite edge surfaces 80 and saw tooth surfaces at top and bottom including surfaces 84 and 86 of that same plate. The surfaces 86 are so placed as to limit the extent of two spacers or ports 88 in each plate 70 and the surfaces 84 are placed to limit three spaces or ports 90. These spaces or ports are subsequently formed because after the stack is assembled, opposite marginal portions shown in dot-and-dash lines illustrated in FIGURE 7 are removed from the spacer plates and corrugated plates. It is to be noted that adjacent spacer plates 70 are reversed in position so that one spacer plate 70 will have the two ports 88 at the top and three ports 90 at the bottom and the next spacer plate will have two ports 88 at the bottom and the three ports 90 at the top. The top and bottom marginal portions are readily removed by machining from the integrated stack of plates 70 and 72 so that the assembled and ported stack will appear as best seen in FIGURE 6.

The plates are notched to receive opposed wall portions of each of the tanks from which wall portions are cut away as best seen in FIGURES 1 and 4. It should also be noted that the corrugations of one corrugated plate are inclined to the corrugations of each adjacent corrugated plate and that the apices (FIGURE 5) of one corrugated plate 72 extend to and are in contactual relation with the apices of the corrugations of the adjacent plate or plates 72. It will be noted that every other spacer plate 70 blocks the space between two corrugated plates 72 in the area A and B (FIGURE 5) but is removed to permit upward flowing in the same plane through a port 88 and into the tank 34. The other spacer plates 70 are open in the area A and B but form a closure to the tank 34 in the corresponding planes. In a similar way three ports 90 are provided for each spacer plate and these lead from the three tanks at the bottom or upwardly through the top of the outer casing.

In operation of the generator, hot gas is admitted into the casing by way of the rectangular opening 28. This gas enters alternate zones defined by the corrugated plates 72 by way of the lower ports 88 (FIGURE 11) formed in alternate spacer plates. It then passes up through intricate passages between adjacent corrugated plates and then is discharged through the upper ports 90 and up through the top of the casing in cooled condition. The air on the other hand, which is to gain heat from the combustion gas, is admitted through the upper tanks 34 and 36 and after flowing counter to the flow of hot gas and through the stack of plates, attains aheated state and is discharged through the conduits 56 and 58.

What particularly should be noted is that in the formation of the integral stack of alternating spacer plates and corrugated plates, portions of the spacer plates essential in defining the ports 88 and 90 would drop away from the assembly if the plates were not brazed or otherwise made, into an integral assembly before the marginal parts drawn in the dot-and-dash lines in FIGURE 7 are removed by machining. With the produce and structure outlined, however, manufacture is much facilitated and manifolding is easily achieved to suit a particular situation and at the same time the structure is simplified despite the thinness of each of the corrugated plates and said spacer frame members partially defined by the corresponding flat marginal portions, the corrugations in each corrugated plate member traversing the openings of the adjacent spacer frame member and being inclined to the corrugations in the nextcorrugated plate member, opposed side margins of each member'o'f said stack being joined to side margins of at least one adjacent member, the joined side margins of all of said members forming impermeable opposite sides of said stack, other margins of each of said members cooperating with adjacent members of the stack to define alternately arranged inlet and outlet ports at each of the ends of said stack, said spacer frame members being similar in outline to facilitate connection with manifoldducting and alternately reversed end for end in position to accommodate the countercurrent flow of separate fluids through said ports and along opposite surfaces of each of said' corrugated portions, said stack of corrugated plate members and spacer frame members being brazed together, and each spacer frame member being thicker. than each corrugated plate member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 817,490 4/06 Jarvis 166 2,591,878 4/52 Rogers et al. 165-l67 2,787,446 4/57 Ljungstrom 165-167 FOREIGN PATENTS 13,900 6/04 Great Britain.

CHARLES SUKA-LO, Primary Examiner. 

